Working at the intersection of marine conservation and social, economic, and environmental justice.

At the intersection of marine conservation and social, economic, environmental and food justice

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Shira’s Top Ten Revol-Oceanary Moments

This post comes to us from NAMA Community Organizer Shira Tiffany.Choosing the ten most powerful moments from my first year at NAMA was a challenge. There have been so many moments when I felt the power of people coming together, connecting our stories and values, and acting for change. Here are some that stand out from my first 14 months with NAMA.

Fishermen bravely testified before the New England Fisheries Management Council on the Fleet Diversity Amendment and led students, seafood consumers and distributors, and other allies in walking out of the meeting. After years of working with the Council, fishermen and allies walked away from the broken “democratic” process and to show the Council’s failure to limit fleet consolidation under Catch Shares. Watch testimonies by fishermen Jason Jarvis,Shannon Eldredge, Stephen Welch, andmore.#2: Pescando Justicia ActionNORPEL, Fish Island, New Bedford, MA9 pm, December 15th, 2014

One year ago today workers at seafood processing plant NORPEL presented a letter to management listing eight demands, among them a $15 minimum wage. Workers and allies held a vigil in front of the plant. It was colder this time last year!

Leaders of Pescando Justicia (Credit: Pescando Justicia)

#3: Hauling in the Catch Aboard theF/V Holly & AbbyOut of Hyannis, Cape Cod, MA4 am, July 28th, 2015I ventured out on my first commercial fishing trip with Captain Stephen Welch. I learned A LOT. What I took away is how comfortable Stephen is behind the wheel and how much fishing means to him. It’s not just how he’s supported himself and his family, it’s how he’s mentored young people, and found meaning and purpose. He’s been fishing in the Gulf of Maine and Nantucket Sound for longer than I’ve been alive and has an incredibly vast wealth of knowledge. As long as he's been hauling in nets, my highlight from that day is still true for him too.When you haul in your nets, what you find is always a surprise.

CaptainTim Rider and his crew steam 70 miles offshore from Saco, ME to fish under the common pool management system. Fishing is an adventurous and exhausting way of life and this was no exception.Highlight: I didn’t throw up!

Cleaning up on the steam home: Crew Spencer Montgomery gets some help scrubbing down from crew Amanda Parks

Leaders of the Fish Locally Collaborative gathered to begin work on a collective narrative to ground our work by crafting a manifesto of what we believe. The rich conversations wrapped my brain around all sorts of new questions.

Sarah Schumann, President of Eating With The Ecosystem, and I learned best practices of decentralized organizations among leaders working on issues from immigrant rights to climate justice to prison abolition. Hours of conversation with Sarah and others during our weekend-long immersion into working ON our organizations instead of IN them was a great kickstarter for this important and easily overlooked work.

Participants at Swarm TrainingDid Sarah Schumann sneak out of this photo? She was nearby!

#7: First Ever Fish Camp

First Baptist Church, Boston, MA

November 8th, 2014

Fishermen, fishworkers, and students came together to share their experiencesas producers, workers, and consumers and to talk about anecologically sustainable, fair, local seafood supplychain. Attendees included Real Food Challenge student leaders from across New England, fisherman Tim Rider from Saco, ME, fisherman Shannon Eldregde of Chatham, MA, Jared Auerbach of Red’s Best in Boston, MA, fishworker leaders of Pescando Justicia in New Bedford, MA, and Jarvis Green of New Orleans, LA.

Fisherman Shannon Eldredge sharing her story

#8: Food Solutions New England SummitBoston, MAJune 10th to 12th, 2015The first ever Food Chain Worker Delegation to the New England Food Summit brought 11 incredible food chain worker-organizers from across the food chain to share their courage and tenacity in the fight for worker justice.

Organizations working for food sovereignty around the world gathered to be in solidarity and learn about agro-ecology. It was inspiring to share stories, songs, poems, meals, cooking, seeds, and take action with folks working for food sovereignty around the world. I listened to Wisconsin family dairy farmer Joel Greeno and Iowa family farmer Brad Wilson stories of resistance to corporate agribusiness. Miriam Miranda, Coordinator of the Black Fraternal Organization of Honduras (OFRANEH), shared about the movement of indigenous Garifuna fishermen and farmers defending and strengthening their land security and their sustainable, small-scale farming and fishing.

Andrew Kang Bartlett’s visualization of a conversation on Food Sovereignty at the Assembly

#10: Emerging Leaders RetreatHartford, CTOctober 20th to 21st, 2015

Emerging Leaders in the Food Solutions New England Network made space together to dig into how racism plays out on various levels of the food system - internalized, interpersonal, institutional, and systemic - and how to work to dismantle racism. Incredibly important work and there’s so much more to do.